[THE ANTI SOCIAL]

WEST COAST NALM

I think I'll be the only East Coast-er to vote for the West Coast. Bring on the road trip!! :yes:

NO YOU'RE NOT REALLY BY YOURSELF. I MISSED THIS YEARS ON ACCOUNT OF LOW FUNDS. BUT IF IT HAD TO BE WEST SIDE AS LONG AS "JEAN GREY" THE ACURA L COUPE CAN DO IT I'D PUSH IT...

 

[daveCFPrez]

i think you guys are looking at this all wrong.

maybe there is some miscommunication here.

Alex - how do you think we are looking at this?

 

[go92Legend]

OK. A small qualification here .... I've just enjoyed (half of) a really GREAT bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and may make some typos (both mentally and physically) in the following reply...

Dave! I appreciate all of your comments and understand the roots in previous organizational efforts in which you have been involved. That being said, there is an element of "face time" that is important here. Although I attended my first NALM this year and spent a pitifully short time there (circumstances known to those who count), I appreciate the efforts of the NALM committee in making sure the 2008 event actually happened. In looking back on the previous posts regarding the possible location for NALM2008, it is pretty clear that while the "east" won the poll, the requisite kanones to actually put together a meet did not follow. In addition, if you look at those that "voted" from the "east", very few put their gas money where their internet desires were. Outcome? Chattanooga.

So, while your questions are clear and reasonable, I suggest another course of action. If you'd like to make a significant contribution to NALM2009, you should put together a bid from the Seattle area (or wherever else you would like to sponsor) and see what happens. I, for one, like the new system and will be thinking about possibilities in Indianapolis for the next NALM.

The bottom line is .... if this forum is viewed as a democracy, then great! But .... if NALM planning is viewed as a democracy, that is a different animal. The reality is ... many post, some posture, few produce. I'm happy with the crew that has produced! Hats off to Brian, Tyson, SR, BenL, Dave et al. Keep it comin', guys!

Gerry

 

[daveCFPrez]

I appreciate the efforts of the NALM committee in making sure the 2008 event actually happened.

Even though I haven't been I as well appreciate the hard work they have done! I know how much time and effort these things take!

In looking back on the previous posts regarding the possible location for NALM2008, it is pretty clear that while the "east" won the poll, the requisite kanones to actually put together a meet did not follow. In addition, if you look at those that "voted" from the "east", very few put their gas money where their internet desires were.

yea, I think I made a pretty snide comment when it was first posted.. Now to *ME* that means the East pretty much gave (give) up there voice in the matter. But since there was such a great bid by Tenn. then I gotta hand it to the folks that picked up the slack. To me East dropped the carton of eggs. NALM '09 (to me) should be semi-west-area.

There have already been comments made about NALM in the NW --

but it rains over there, i enjoy my car to be clean. and porkland is there, home of the other white meat

southwest FTW.

thank you very much. I'd rather deal with rain than lung choking smog!

The reality is ... many post, some posture, few produce. I'm happy with the crew that has produced! Hats off to Brian, Tyson, SR, BenL, Dave et al. Keep it comin', guys!

Gerry

Yup those guys above are the reason this keeps happening.

Truth be told I'm not going to drive over to the east coast just like some east coasters aren't going to drive over here to the NW. Now if NALM was going to switch from one coast to another (as I had originally thought that was the case) then I'd be happy to help out in a support role for something within a 20 some hour driving distance.

 

[tubadude]

thank you very much. I'd rather deal with rain than lung choking smog!

Yup those guys above are the reason this keeps happening.

just to let you know, i went to the vegas NALM, and i submitted a bid for the LA/inland empire area last year, which i believe is more than what most of the preios attendees have done. This year, I plan to submit another, going to use last years bid as a footprint, and get some of the LA guys to help with beach cruises and what not.

besides, i think more people would come to see so cal than oregon. ive spent several weeks up there, and the only neat thing is the nike plant.

and the smog isnt bad, you wuss. starting to sound like your kid. ..

 

[Tyson]

What started as Lee's brain child in 2005 has become what we know as NALM now. Prior to 2005, the idea of a "national" meet had been discussed a lot but had never come to fruition. What makes NALM a truly national event is that it has consistently attracted people from across the country. Of those who attended NALM this year in Chattanooga, none were from there -- save Lee himself who didn't even have a Legend.

I too have noticed that every year we have people saying, "I'll be there for sure next year," and yet we do see so few repeat attendees. Regardless it's been a blast meeting different people from various parts of the country and I love any excuse to travel to uncharted territory.

The momentum is here, the enthusiasm is growing, and I can't wait for what NALM 2009 will bring. Be there or be square.

 

[Uncle Stinky]

+1 on everything Brian and Tyson said.

 

[legend89chopped]

Vegas encore FTMFW!!!

 

[ActionJackson]

If the NALM committee wanted the most exposure, would it not be a good idea to try to promote a NALM in alternating quantrants of the states i.e. N.W., N.E., S.W., and then S.E? Depending on qualified bid, of course. Any Central States would be a bonus for everyone.....

 

[Blackend]

If the NALM committee wanted the most exposure, would it not be a good idea to try to promote a NALM in alternating quantrants of the states i.e. N.W., N.E., S.W., and then S.E? Depending on qualified bid, of course. Any Central States would be a bonus for everyone.....

A very good point, but with the "here today, gone tomorrow" activity with most members on this forum, we felt it best to open the bids up Nationwide from the start each year, to ensure that any area of North America (Canada eh? ) could capitalize on a strong local scene by hosting NALM that year.

When I first joined this site, there were local meets like every other month with 8 to 15 people out every time. We're hard pressed to do better than 5 now with months of notice and rescheduling!

 

[ActionJackson]

Blackend : Yes , I understand the difficulties and am grateful for all your
organizational efforts. I'm just suggesting to keep it somewhat feasible for
all locales to participate.

 

[NuclearSymphony]

Honestly, Brian, I read the passion in your posts and it makes me ill to think I was this close (locationally) and still missed it. What does that say about me, or my dedication to these cars? Sad to say, not much. As a person who's never been to a NALM, I respect greatly you guys' enthusiasm and hard work. There's absolutely no question, if I had to do it over again, I would have walked down to NALM '08 if I had to. And I don't want to be square (Tyson lol), so there's no excuses (for me, anyways) not to be at NALM '09! I think you guys should get compensated somehow, so I'll bring an inflatable sheep with me.

 

[L3GDKANG/JDMKANG]

This was my 1st and even though i didnt do the whole thing just 1 day i am making plans to make it to next 1 and bring more cars! I have much more respect for the NALM now that ive been to 1 so lets make it grow or it will die out just think muscle car and classic car owners still do there natnls and they want let theirs die then if we are true legend owners then its up to us and a whole to keep it alive!

 

[daveCFPrez]

this is my point -- (and pretty much always has been)


If this is to continue, and grow in participation *I* feel it is VERY important that the meet be switched between East and West every year.

Think about this:
If someone is on the fence about going and then know they can drive a handful of hours to a NATIONAL meet instead of a handful of days they would more than likely come to check it out.

Maybe the $$ won't allow someone to go across country, but knowing next year will be more closer to their home they can feel good about a better chance at going.

I just think that by having open bids anywhere you are opening up the meet's attendance to get smaller and smaller.

The BEST meets/conventions are ALWAYS heald at the same venues. Its something those that go count on, and look forward to as last year they didn't get to see ____________. So this year they can make sure and hit that attraction. (E3, Auto shows, porn con,comic cons they are all held at the same venue and about the same time every year)

Having distinguished travel will help in getting more people out. IMHO

 

[Blackend]

this is my point -- (and pretty much always has been)

If this is to continue, and grow in participation *I* feel it is VERY important that the meet be switched between East and West every year.

Think about this:
If someone is on the fence about going and then know they can drive a handful of hours to a NATIONAL meet instead of a handful of days they would more than likely come to check it out.

Maybe the $$ won't allow someone to go across country, but knowing next year will be more closer to their home they can feel good about a better chance at going.

I just think that by having open bids anywhere you are opening up the meet's attendance to get smaller and smaller.

The BEST meets/conventions are ALWAYS heald at the same venues. Its something those that go count on, and look forward to as last year they didn't get to see ____________. So this year they can make sure and hit that attraction. (E3, Auto shows, porn con,comic cons they are all held at the same venue and about the same time every year)

Having distinguished travel will help in getting more people out. IMHO

See, now we sure took a round-about way to find out we're really on the same page with this!

The basic idea is, open the meet up nationally so EVERYBODY is enthusiastic about the whole event, and I believe it will naturally foster a sense of competition between those entering bids and trying to swing NALM closer to them. Hell, look at Austin (tubadude) - he had a bid in last year that was admittedly weak, and he's all kinds of fired up about putting together a better one this year. Imagine if Rich and some of the Tri-State crew put together a bid this year that was beat by Austin's Inland Empire bid this year...I would guess that the 2010 Tri-State bid would be friggin AWESOME because they didn't "win" it the year prior. I really feel like there is a natural swing around the country with a bid format like this. From watching NSXPO, it's been working for them for quite a while this way, and there's probably no reason for them to change the event to a static venue. Now, if we were NOPI, or SEMA, then yes - we'd need to stay constant to establish ourselves. But their products appeal to a much wider audience than our little forum here...and flexibility is our advantage to entice more attendees.

 

[go92Legend]

See, now we sure took a round-about way to find out we're really on the same page with this!

... From watching NSXPO, it's been working for them for quite a while this way, and there's probably no reason for them to change the event to a static venue. Now, if we were NOPI, or SEMA, then yes - we'd need to stay constant to establish ourselves. But their products appeal to a much wider audience than our little forum here...and flexibility is our advantage to entice more attendees.

IMHO, here is the key issue. The Legend following is relatively small and the progressively younger demographic of owners/forum members are not in a position (financially, independently, attention span ... whatever) to be as committed, quite frankly. This translates into some of the "here today, gone tomorrow" behavior Brian referred to. How does this relate to the location issue you ask? Well, I speculate that the loss of attendees due to legitimate time/distance barriers is smaller than the actual loss of attendees due to other factors or non-factors. Look at posts from people who did not come to NALM'08, regret it, but were closer than those in the NW.

Again, I think the committee has a good plan in place and let's see what happens on the bids, OK?

 

[daveCFPrez]

Again, I think the committee has a good plan in place and let's see what happens on the bids, OK?

I'm not (and never was) knocking the committee. I was just throwing out my worthless $0.02 as someone who has over a decade of experience in just these type of things...

 

[BenL]

A few thoughts. I think I've been around longer than most people here, that hopefully my 2 cents counts for something.

1. The changing location format of the NALM gives everyone a fair chance to attend. Granted, not all people will be able to attend all years because of the sheer distances involved, but at least it gives everyone a chance to attend 1 or 2, as it moves around the country. With the current state of the Legend community, I think a static meet each year will become a meet of the same people each year.

2. A good team that is local to the meet location is essential to making it work. A lot of people talk about bringing the meet to their city/area, but few are willing to do what it takes to make it happen. If the group in a certain city/area isn't even willing to do the legwork that it takes to submit a bid, what kind of commitment will they have to following through and actually carrying out a meet? This is a big issue. The quality of the bid will show the level of commitment to making the event happen and be successful.

3. Ideally, the meet should be in different regions of the country each year. The criteria that is used to determine winning bids is that if the bids are of equal quality, then NALM will be awarded to the region that has not hosted one before. If there are equal bids from regions that have both hosted before, then NALM will be awarded to the region that has not hosted it in the longest time. This is a pretty fair system, IMO.

4. While it would be great to be able to have NALM alternate between the different regions of the country on a regular basis, the bottom line is it takes a committed local team to make it happen (see #2). If the local team won't even take the time to research and submit a bid, how can they be relied upon to plan and host the entire event in a non ad-hoc fashion? Ad-hoc is fine for a local meet, but when people are traveling major distances, it needs to be well-planned to make it worthwhile for people to come.

 

[BenL]

As Brian mentioned, NSXCA has used the bid system for NSXPO since almost the beginning, and there have been no issues with the meet being in different regions of the country each year.

1997: Denver, CO
1998: Columbus, OH
1999: Monterey, CA
2000: Atlanta, GA
2001: Elkhart Lake, WI
2002: Dallas, TX
2003: Sonoma, CA
2004: Watkins Glen, NY
2005: Phoenix, AZ
2006: Orlando, FL
2007: Columbus, OH
2008: Portland, OR
2009: Toronto, ON, Canada

Pretty diverse locations and good east/west/central alternating with the bid system, no?

 

[Alperovich]

so are we gonna follow NSXPO to canada eh? for 09?